1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to winches, more particularly, the present invention relates to manual swivel winches.
2. Background Information
Winches have been used in many applications. Manual swivel winches have been widely used in barges, tow boats and the like. Typically a manual swivel winch is pivotally attached to a D-ring on a boat deck and spools a towing cable on a rotatable drum. These winches often are exposed to an abrasive environment and can become immersed in coal, ore or other material being transported. Consequently, these winches have a sturdy construction.
The sturdy construction of the prior art manual swivel winches resulted in a design with a relatively large number of manufacturing steps and a corresponding high labor cost for assembling the product. The prior art design also utilizes excess material increasing the material or capital costs of the product. Additionally, the prior art winch is not designed for easy cleaning.
The difficulties with the prior art design are highlighted by reviewing the construction and manufacturing of a prior art manual swivel winch 10 shown in FIGS. 1-3. The winch 10 of the prior art includes a base plate 12 and a pair of spaced side plates 14 surrounding a rotatable spool assembly. The rotatable spool assembly is rotatably supported between the side plates 14 and includes a drum 16, a protecting flange 18 on one side of the drum 16 and a controlling gear 20 on the other side of the drum 16. A control assembly 22 is supported by the side plates 14 and engages with the gear 20 to rotate the drum 16 for spooling of a cable (not shown) thereon. The control assembly 22 extends through one side plate 14 and includes a hand wheel 24 and an actuating lever 26 which are used for manually operating the winch 10. A foot brake 28 is attached to the side plate 14 through which the control assembly 22 extends. The foot brake 28 is adapted to frictionally engage the hand wheel 24. A swivel link 30 is attached to the base plate 12 at a rear of the winch 10 and pivotally attaches the winch 10 to a D-ring 32 of a boat deck or the like. A step or foot 34 is attached to the underside of the base plate 12 near a forward portion of the winch 10. A gear guard 36 is attached to one of the side plates 14 on the same side as the gear 20 and is positioned in a cutout formed in the side plate 14. The gear guard 36 prevents the cable from interfering with or becoming wrapped behind the gear 20. Similarly, a flange guard 37 is attached to the other side plate 14 in a cutout formed therein. The flange guard 37 prevents the cable from being wrapped behind the flange 18.
The construction of the manual swivel winch 10 includes the use of four tubular spacers 38 for spacing the side plates 14 apart. A bolt 40 extends through the center of each spacer 38 through aligned holes in the opposed side plates 14 and is secured by nuts 42. Two of the four spacers 38 are illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, one in the upper front portion of the winch 10 and the other in the upper rear portion of the winch 10. A third spacer 38 is provided in the lower rear portion of the winch 10 generally where the foot brake 28 is attached to one of the side plates 14. The fourth spacer 38 is originally positioned through holes 44 in the lower front portion of the side plates 14. During manufacturing of the winch 10, after attachment of the base plate 12, the fourth spacer 38 is removed to avoid interference with the cable. The swivel link 30 is attached to the base plate 12 by bolts 46 threaded into tapped holes 48 formed in the base plate 12. The manufacturing of the winch 10 further includes the welding of the base plate 12 to each of the side plates 14, the welding of the foot 34 to the underside of the base plate 12, the creation of the cutouts for the gear guard 36 and the flange guard 37 and the welding of the gear guard 36 and the flange guard 37 to the respective side plate 14.
The above description illustrates that the manufacture of the winch 10 is labor-intensive. The extensive heavy welding of the base plate 12, the tapping of holes 48, the welding of the gear guard 36, the flange guard 37 and the foot 34, and the subsequent removal of the fourth spacer 38 create a labor-intensive assembly operation. The design of the winch 10 also utilizes excess material increasing capital costs of the winch 10.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a manual swivel winch which minimizes the manufacturing steps and the associated manufacturing time. It is another object of the present invention to provide a manual swivel winch which minimizes the material utilized in construction. It is another object of the present invention to provide a self-cleaning or easy-to-clean manual swivel winch.